The Zion Experiment
by lindseylou1212
Summary: Zita Fuentes had to loose somebody close to her in order to find a family that loves her. Zion Ezra never got the chance to be loved by a family. Zita and Zion's personalities clash, but they say opposites attract.  Spin off of Cruz Control  R&R!
1. Zita 1

**Well... I'm back. So as promised here is Zita's story. If you haven't read Cruz Control yet, don't worry. You'll totally be able to get it, but you might want to refer to Cruz Control if some confusion occurs... just sayin'. So please, please review! ****I don't know how this story will go over, so please just review and tell me how it is and if you want me to post Zion's chapter. I'm already falling in love with Zion and Zita (especially Zion). So please, please review and let me know if I did a good job or not. **

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><p>Zita<p>

I didn't really get the excitement of senior year. It was just another phase of high school. Another year of bitchy girls and idiotic guys. Plus, there were _still_ endless piles of homework. And not to mention the stress of trying to get into a good college or figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life.

On my first day, I woke up before my alarm clock went off, like always. I could never sleep past six in the morning; it was just one of my "things".

I had a lot of "things". I couldn't stand rap music, the smell of any kind of alcohol, cigarettes, or the color yellow.

All these things reminded me of memories from my past. It was practically a different life with a _totally _different family and a_ totally_ different outlook.

I was adopted when I was three by Alex and Brittany Fuentes. They took me in after my brother was killed and I was taken away from my alcoholic father.

Cruz, their son, was best friends with my brother, Rio, before he died. He was also one of my four adopted siblings. Paco was thirty-three, Alicia was thirty-one, Cruz was twenty-nine, and AJ was twenty-eight.

The oldest three were married while A and his partner Cam, were happy with just spending the rest of their lives together.

At first glance you couldn't tell AJ was gay. I heard stories from my family saying that when he was teen you could tell, but he dropped that once he started high school. Cam on the other hand was a total giveaway. He was a hairdresser in Chicago. AJ made his living by making jingles for radio and television ads.

I sighed and rolled out of bed. Neither of my parents were up yet; I could feel the stillness of the house.

I didn't have to be at school until eight and I wasn't the type of girl to spend all morning getting ready. I _was_ the type of girl to grab my running shoes and go for a jog instead.

And that's exactly what I did. It's what I did every morning. My parents were used to me running and didn't expect me to be home when they got up.

Our neighborhood was full of people who ran early in the morning before work. We lived in a place filled mostly with doctors and lawyers. I hated running here.

So I ran where I used to live. It was so much calmer. Everyone up this early were mostly getting home from the graveyard shift. Nobody ran, but they all knew me and were used to me passing by.

"_Hola_, Zita," _Señor_ Cortez yelled to me as I ran pass his house.

I waved to him and continued on my way.

I had a route that I ran every morning. I always stopped at the little cemetery at the border that divided the north and south side of Fairfield. I visited my brother. Rio's grave was what really woke me up in the morning. I couldn't function without going to see him.

I miss him more than anything. I was only three when he died, but I remembered him being my shield against my abusive father.

I didn't know where my birth father was. The day Rio died my father wouldn't answer the door and the police were forced to come in. They saw the condition of our house and the fact that I was hiding under Rio's bed while my father was passed out on the bed. The police took me into custody and my father disappeared.

I remember the night Rio died like it was yesterday. I remember sitting in the police station while officers talked around me in hushed voices. I was scared; I didn't know what was happening. Nobody would tell me anything.

Then two men showed up. Those men would forever be in my life. They were my uncles: Luis and Carlos. Luis scooped me up in his arms and I remembered crying for the first time about Rio. The police let Luis and Carlos take me back to their Mamá's house (my _abuela_ now), and I spent the night crying against my adopted grandmother's shoulder.

Soon after, Brittany and Alex showed up and took me to their house. Cruz was in the hospital for getting hurt in the same gang-related action that got Rio killed. He was just as sad as me and understood the situation more.

That night was the first time I felt real emotional pain and was comforted by a parental figure. I had no idea that I was missing out on such a simple yet important part of life.

After I was done at the cemetery, I went back home. My route was a total of four miles. Once I opened the door to the kitchen, I smelt breakfast. Papá was over the stove scrambling eggs.

He shook his head at me. "You are not a normal teenager, I hope you know that."

I kicked my shoes off and smiled at him.

I was a girl of little words. If I didn't know you, I wouldn't talk to you. If didn't feel like talking to my family, I didn't. My parents were used to this, along with my siblings and uncles. People at school, however, just thought I was just quiet. I was the kid that nobody knew or recognized when they said my name.

I came across shy, but once you really got to know me I would show my true colors.

As I headed for the stairs Papá called after me. "Breakfast in a half an' hour!"

"'Kay," I called back to him and hurried towards the shower.

Mamá was scrambling to get ready for work.

"Hey, Baby! You ready for your first day of senior year?" She asked me.

I shrugged and she chuckled a little. "I guess not."

I smiled a bit.

Mamá was pretty. She had golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She also loved making herself up, shopping, and shoes.

"Good luck, today," She called after me as I walked towards the bathroom.

As I started the shower, thoughts of rain crossed my mind. Thunderstorms were another one of my "things".

When I was first brought to my family I was incredibly damaged. I wouldn't eat, I wouldn't speak, I wouldn't sleep, and I was deathly afraid of the shower or any rain that fell. When the first thunderstorm ripped through Fairfield, no one knew what to do with me.

I eventually got over the shower, but rain still sets me on edge and thunderstorms were worse.

Once I was done showering, I dried my wavy sandy-brown hair and put on the little makeup I ever wore- a touch of mascara and foundation.

After brushing my teeth I went to my bedroom to get ready.

My room was pretty simple. I got Paco's old room. When I moved in his walls were painted navy blue, but Papá repainted it a light pink. I had a desk, a full-sized bed, a dresser, a bookshelf, and a closet. I didn't need much but my parents still bought me a laptop freshmen year.

I raided my closet for something wearable. Mamá loved taking me shopping, but I hardly wore the things she picked out for me. I passed over the dresses and skirts Mamá had purchased and went with my favorite pair of worn jeans and a new navy blue v-neck. I grabbed my Nike high-tops, backpack, and soccer bag before heading downstairs.

Soccer was one of the things I loved in my life. I may have not been popular or outgoing but once I stepped onto the soccer field, I was better than any of the other players.

I wasn't surprised to find my brother, AJ, at the table,shoveling eggs into his mouth.

"Hey, baby sister!" He exclaimed with his mouth full.

Papá slapped him with a dishtowel. "Alejo, _cerras tu bocca_!"

A made a face and I sat down next to him.

"Where's Cam?" I asked.

"At work; he had to go in early today. Something about an intense photo-shoot."

Papá set down a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of me then made one for himself.

"You're babysitting for Lia and Cruz after practice, right?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Cruz told me I should just stay over. He doesn't know when they're going to get home."

Papá nodded.

I took a few bites of my breakfast before getting up.

"Thanks for breakfast Papá."

He nodded. "Give your old man a kiss before you run off, though."

"And your brother," A added.

I rolled my eyes and pecked them both on the cheek before heading out the door.


	2. Zion 2

**Hi. Two reviews... yay? Okay well this chapter isn't betaed, my Beta is awesome, but I figured I would get this chapter up and see if I should carry on with posting this. Yeah, I don't know what I'm going to do. Just please tell me how I'm doing, there is nothing more frustrating then putting time and effort into something and then you only get say... two reviews. So review if you want to hear the rest of the Zion and Zita's story, if not that's cool too, I can stop. **

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><p><strong>Zion<strong>

"Why the hell do you even bother with school?"

That was the very question I've been asked for a long time, mostly by my friends.

I sighed, "Dax, I'm not fuckin' answering that again. You know why."

My best friend laughed at me like he always did, "And you know your reason is impossible."

I shook my head and lifted a sweatshirt off the floor, trying to find my shoe.

"You need an address to go to college, you can't pay somebody for that address like you're doing now. Colleges actually care, unlike your shitty high school."

"You know what else you need an address for?" I asked him, throwing random clothes in a mad search for my shoe.

He waited for my answer.

"A fuckin' job, you lazy bum."

"You're funny, Z. I'm going back to bed because I can."

I raised my eyebrows, "See, you're lazy."

He shot me the finger before throwing the curtain back that served as his door.

Dax was right, I didn't have an address. We lived in an old, abandoned warehouse along the shores of Lake Michigan in the town of Fairfield, Illinois. Dax and I lived with eight other kids in the giant ran down building.

All of the kids living with us were either runaways or orphans. We all had a reason to flee from our homes. Some of the kids living with me, I tried my best to avoid. Others I considered my friends.

My best friend was Dax. Dax ran away from his house after his parents died when he was fifteen. His only other option was to live with his crazy Grandpa. He took off before the custody orders were in place.

The other person that I really hung around with was Logan. Logan watched her own father kill her mother. She took off with her three year old brother, Tanner, before the police even arrived at her house. She climbed out of window before her dad could turn the gun on her and Tanner.

Jordan ran away from foster care when he was sixteen. He was the oldest one living with us, but he was only nineteen himself. Jordan had a pretty decent job since he was older. He worked as a waiter at Applebee's. I knew that he would have enough money saved before the long Illinois winter would set in.

Then there was Pete. Pete is what you could call a fugitive on the run from the law. He got busted a few times for dealing drugs. He still deals every now and then, but we set ground rules that he can't do it out of the warehouse. If he got caught we were all screwed.

I didn't mind Pace either. Pace was kind of new to the runaway situation. He was the same age as Dax and I, seventeen. His dad wanted him to go to college and become a doctor. That's what he was raised to do his whole life. I guess one day he got in a huge fight with his dad over the fact that he wanted to be a musician and not a doctor. He grabbed his guitar and left.

Violet was a mystery. Nobody knows her story. She never talked at all. There was something dark from her past that I was hoping she would share with us one day. She'd been living with us for a year and said about a total of twelve words.

Caleb gave up his insane talent for his love life. Caleb was an amazing basketball player before he came out to his parents that he was gay. His dad kicked him out and he'd hadn't talked to him in about six months.

Then there was Abby. Abby had a mind of her own. She was sixteen and pregnant. Abby was an interesting character. Dax and I came across her when we were walking along the beach that the warehouse was on. She was curled in a ball sleeping next to a piece of driftwood. She was three months pregnant when we found her, she refused to get an abortion, her parents disowned her, and the baby daddy didn't want anything to do with her or the baby.

The warehouse we lived in was a big hollow space. It had no electricity or plumbing. Every time we had to go the bathroom we went outside or found a gas station or store nearby. We strategized where we went, so people wouldn't catch on. All the lights ran on batteries or were solar powered and their wasn't very many lights that ran on those sources. I managed to find a way to run Christmas lights on batteries one day when I got bored. That was our main light source. In the winter all the heat came from space heaters and piles of blankets. All our furniture came from dumpsters or street corners.

It was horrible, I admit, but it was better than what we had before. We kept a low profile making sure we never led anybody onto where we lived. That's what made going to school so hard. I had to pay one of Pete's clients so I could use his address for my school records.

We all found the warehouse by chance. I stumbled upon it one day as I walking on the beach at night, trying to figure out what do to with my life. There were a group of kids laughing and joking by a bonfire right behind the warehouse. Once they set eyes on me they knew my situation.

I ran away from my home in Milwaukee when I was twelve. My mom was a single mom. She had my older brother, Hayden, when she was fourteen. Hayden's dad ended up leaving the night after she told him that she was pregnant. She turned to drugs soon after. Eight years later I was born a crack baby with no father.

Hayden practically raised me. Mom was never sober and she had a new boyfriend every week. Her boyfriends were just as drunk and high as her. I don't remember a day in my life when I lived with my mom when I wasn't hit, starved, or locked in a room.

Then one day when I was seven, Hayden didn't come home from school. I thought something bad happened to him for the longest time. As a couple months passed and Mom's hits got harder and more frequent, I finally figured out that he had left me to fend for myself.

By sixth grade I had enough. I managed to buy a bus ticket to Chicago from Milwaukee.

Along with leaving Milwaukee, I left behind my identity. I was born Harlow Loften, but I changed my name to Zion Ezra and managed to find a guy that got me a new social security number. For years I found women to take me to shelters with them and their children. Sometimes I would find a few men who taught me how to live on the streets. I was twelve and scared, but I knew I was better off than I was before.

I looked at the clock in our makeshift living room. I had fifteen minutes to get to school.

"Fuck," I muttered to myself and started searching for my shoe even harder.

I drew the curtain to Pete's room. He was hard core passed out and I spotted my shoe right under him. His room smelled and I realized he'd puked everywhere, including in my shoe.

"Jesus!" I kicked him in the rib lightly, "Pete, you owe me a new pair of shoes."

He groaned and rolled over, pushing me away.

I sighed and had no choice but to go to school how I was. I rushed to the stairs.

"Zion!" I heard Logan's voice behind me.

I turned around.

Logan was the mother of the group, she always held us in line. She knew how to take care of us when we were sick and was the easiest to talk to.

She held a yellow pill bottle in her hands and she shook it once, a hand on her hip.

I grunted and she tossed the bottle to me.

I was born with something wrong with my heart. I found out when I was eight that I had Ebstein's Anomaly, a rare heart disease that made my blood flow off and my heart rate a lot higher.

I had to take pills everyday too make sure that one of my heart valves didn't tear. I had to buy my pills illegally off of another guy Pete knew just to keep me alive.

"Thanks, Mom," I joked, tossing her the bottle back after downing the right amount.

She smiled, "Have a good day at school."


	3. Zita 3

**Zita**

"What'd you have first hour?" My best friend Kylee asked me as soon as she saw me at my locker.

"Chemistry with Peterson," I answered.

I heard from my parents and siblings that she was a hard ass, but they all survived her class and even had her to thank for introducing them to the love of their lives.

Mrs. Peterson was older than most teachers at Fairfield High. Her hair had turned grey and she walked with a cane. She didn't back down at her old age though.

Kylee smiled, "Yay! Me too!"

A wave of relief swept over me, "Thank God."

She smiled and we started for the other end of the school.

Kylee was basically my other half. She was the out-going one, the one that wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She always stood up for me, when I couldn't find the words to say anything for myself.

Kylee was also the pretty one. Boys were always throwing themselves at her, she's had so many boyfriends that I couldn't even name them all. I love the girl to death, but she gets bored with guys way too much. She likes the chase, the high from getting something that seemed so out of her reach. Because of this, she never had a boyfriend for very long. I can't wait to meet the boy that will make her settle down forever, if there is a boy like that out there.

We got to Mrs. Peterson's room and sat down at a table when the music, that acted like a bell, started playing over the loudspeaker. I looked around the room. The room was full of faces that I recognized, but never talked to.

Mrs. Peterson came limping in, closing the door behind her.

"Good morning and welcome to senior chemistry," Her voice is shockingly loud and full of authority, " I appreciate you picking your own seats, but I make the seating arrangements… alphabetically."

There were groans and objections, but she ignored them and started to rattle of names and pointed to seats. As soon as she got to the "E's" I made sure I was ready to go.

She pointed to a seat, "Zion Ezra, your partner is Zita Fuentes."

I was the first one that she actually acknowledged with a little smile, that made me nervous. I took my seat and expected one of the guys to sit next to me, but nobody did.

Kylee mouthed, "Who the hell is Zion Ezra?" To me.

I shrugged and reached in my backpack for my book.

"Kylee Kaster," Mrs. Peterson pointed to the table right behind me and relief flooded through me, "Your partner is TJ King."

I watched TJ take the seat next to Kylee and Kylee watched him as well. I knew what she was thinking and when she grinned at him and started chatting in her bubbly voice, I knew that it wouldn't be long until he was caught in her trap.

Mrs. Peterson placed all the students and looked around, pausing at the empty seat next to me. She raised an eyebrow, but made a check mark on the class list.

She limped to the front of the room, her cane echoing her every move.

Just as Mrs. Peterson was about to say something, the door flew open.

"Jesus Christ," The guy pushing it open, muttered, "You need to fix those hinges."

Mrs. Peterson looked at him, "Mr. Ezra?"

He nodded, his breath ragid, almost as if he had ran a marathon.

"Are you aware that class started a good ten minutes ago?" Peterson asked him.

"Yes, yes I am. I have a really good excuse though," He said, putting his hands on his knees and breathing deeply.

"And that is?"

He hesitated and put a finger up, indicating that he was getting breath, "I was mugged."

"And they stole your shoes?" Carson Daniel, the captain of the football team, said with a chuckle.

The class roared with laughter, I didn't laugh. I was focusing on the guy who I was going to spend my time doing projects with and he couldn't even get to class on time.

He looked down at his socked feet and then at Carson, "Yes. Yes they did."

Carson rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath.

Zion straightened up and his height towered over Mrs. Peterson.

Mrs. Peterson sighed and nodded to the empty stool next to me, "You're sitting next to Miss Fuentes. And Mr. Ezra?"

Zion made his way to his seat and sat down, "Yes?"

" I have zero tolerance policy. You'll see me after school for detention and find yourself some shoes after class."

Some emotion crossed Zion's face, but he quickly covered it, "I'll be honored to spend the evening with you."

Mrs. Peterson ignored him and went onto the classroom rules.

I watched my partner out of the corner of my eye. He was wearing a purple hoodie and jeans, even though the weather was freakishly hot. His hair was the color of the sand on the beaches on the shores of lake Michigan, the perfect shade of brown. It was windblown and stuck up all over the place. He had the strangest color eyes I had ever seen. They were perfectly mint green, the color of the filing of the Mint Oreos, Papá always hid from my brothers.

He caught me staring and turned his head to me, his eyebrows raised. I looked away, blushing.

"Now look at the person sitting next to you," Mrs. Peterson said.

I hesitated but looked at Zion. He smiled at me, a smirk. I noticed the traces of freckles covering his nose that were from the summer sun.

"You don't have to like this partner, but you're stuck with them. Take a couple minutes to get to know each other, then you will introduce you're partner to the class."

Zion looked at me and winked, I turned to Kylee behind me, but she was already flirting with TJ. I had no choice to turn back to Zion.

"So, he started, my name is Zion Ezra."

I nodded, "Zita Fuentes."

He nodded, "I enjoy smoking weed and having unprotected sex."

I felt my eyes grow huge and stared at him.

He grinned at me, "Truth hurts, babe."

"Well, I traveled with my brother to his skating competitions."

Everybody else was finished and Peterson called us back together. I started panicking. I hated talking in front of people, my tongue gets all tied, and my words come out wrong. Not to make it any better that I didn't know what I was going to say.

When we got to us, Zion nodded to me to go first.

I took a deep breath, "This is Zion Ezra and he likes… to ah… live life on the edge."

Zion's eyebrows shot up, "Fine. Two can play this game," he muttered to me and spoke up to the class, "This is Zita Fuentes, she spent the summer hanging with her rich brother at skateboard competitions, where she learned to shoot cocaine and use a condom."

I froze and felt my face grow red as laughter filled the room.

Mrs. Peterson glared at Zion, "Mr. Zion, you just earned a week of detention."

Zion smiled, "More you and me time, 'ey."

I tried to ignore him the rest of the class, but every now and then I felt his eyes on me.

The bell rang, ending the period, and I gathered my stuff. I caught his eye and he winked at me one more time. I shook my head and walked out the door, my hands shaking.


	4. Zion 4

**Zion**

Detention is something that I'm used to. Harlow never got detention, but Zion probably has set records. I wasn't afraid to speak my mind or stand up for myself, but that stuff I was saying back in Peterson's class I'm not quite sure why I said that. I didn't even know the girl, but yet again I knew her type.

Zita Fuentes was probably the richest girl in the school, she wasn't that popular, but just the fact that she had so much money made me sick. She could have whatever she wanted while I sat around and froze my ass off all winter just trying to survive.

The girl didn't even talk. Her arrogance was radiating off into my own personal bubble and it made me go a little too far.

One time Dax tried to steal Cruz Fuentes' car. That's how I found out about Zita.

It was sophomore year and Dax was bored. He drug me around town and we came across a black Mercedes. He ran for it, while I stood look out in the bushes.

I guess I wasn't a very good lookout, and the fact that Dax set the alarm off didn't help either, because Cruz came running out from the building it was parked behind.

Dax froze and my heart started racing. I thought that Dax was gone for sure, I thought that I would never see him again.

To both our surprises Cruz just threw him the keys and said, "You need the keys to start it up. You know if you don't want to hot wire it."

Dax was so surprised that he let the keys fall to the ground and sprinted towards the warehouse. Cruz watched him go and turned his attention towards the bush I was hiding in.

"You can come out. I didn't do anything to your friend. I'm not gonna do anything to you."

I was even more surprised that he knew I was hiding. I got to my feet and look him in the eye for a long second.

I shook my head and started walking after Dax, "You're fuckin' stupid, I hope you know that. But thanks, you just basically saved both our lives."

He nodded once and watched me as I went.

Somebody told me later that Cruz had a sister in my grade, I watched her on the soccer field one day. I didn't really get a good look, but the way she carried herself told me enough, she thought she was better than everybody else.

After detention I walked the three miles back to the warehouse. I managed to steal some kid's gym shoes after first hour. They were a bit too small for me, but they were nice. They would fit Dax if anything else.

When I got home the only ones there were Dax, Pace, and Vi. They were all sitting in our makeshift living room. Dax on the floor, building a card house. Pace was sitting on the floor next to him, his back against the couch and guitar in his hand. Vi was laying on the couch reading a magazine.

"Oh, Mr. Smarty-pants is home!" Dax said with no enthusiasm, looking up from his card tower for a second.

I sat down next to him and knocked his tower down, "Can you shut the fuck up already?"

"Are you kidding me, Z? I've been workin' on that all day!" He said, his face scrunching up in annoyance.

"Exactly, like I said this morning. Get a fuckin' job."

He laughed, "I thought we also decided that we need an address for a job too."

"And a social security number that isn't claimed to be missing," Pace added, strumming a chord on his guitar and scribbling something down on a notepad.

Dax nodded, "Yeah, we can't all be like you and buy a number off some drunk in the back alleyway."

I sighed, "Fine, then I'll get a job."

"Why?" Dax asked.

" 'Cause I'm sick of stealing everything and mooching off Pace's tips from his gigs, or asking Jordan to spot me."

Dax laughed, "Z, that's part of our lifestyle! We're defeating the odds. The homeless youth of America, becoming self-sustained!"

I laughed without humor, "Dax, you have the wrong idea. We're living off of other homeless kids."

He shrugged, starting to stack cards again.

I looked at my best friend. Dax was always smaller than me, ever since I met him. I may have been on the taller side, but Dax was on the shorter side. He was five four and weighed about fifty pounds less than I did. His red hair stuck up all over the place all the time. It was the kind of red hair that reminds you of fire, you could almost consider it orange. Dax's hair said a lot about his personality. He was firey, he never backed down.

"Whatever," I muttered and got to my feet.

"Where you going?" Dax asked, looking up at me with his big brown eyes.

"My room."

"Got homework?" He asked with a smirk.

"Fuck you," I muttered and walked the little ways to where the curtains hung that served as my room.

I could still hear Dax's laughter and Pace's guitar. I always dreamed about having a room where I could lock the rest of the world out, but that wasn't possible the way we lived.

The way our room works, was quite simple. Since the warehouse was basically a big open room, we each claimed a square that served as our "room". We managed to use poles and curtain rods to hang up curtains and sheets to serve as walls. There was a slit in the curtain that opened and that we used as a door.

We managed to get all of our mattresses and furniture from dumpsters and street corners. None of them were in the best shape, but they cut it.

My room was the only room that used one of the cement walls holding up the warehouse instead of four walls made of curtains, I only had three walls made of curtain. The thing with my room is that that it had a window that wouldn't shut all the way. The window was a blessing in the summer, since I got the breeze off the lake, but a curse in the winter because the same breeze managed to come in.

I got a little carried away with my invention of battery operated Christmas lights and my whole room was surrounded by them. I had a full size bed that laid flat on the ground with no box spring. My clothes were held in one of those plastic see through drawers that had wheels on the bottom. I had a bean bag chair and a night stand with a battery operated alarm clock and a few books. I had three blankets on my bed and two pillows. That's basically all I owned, that's basically all I needed.

I threw my backpack in the corner of my room, where it would stay until the next day, I rarely did homework. I slammed myself on my bed and looked up at the cracking rafters, it was only a matter time until they fell down completely.

I reached under my pillow and pulled out the notebook I kept. Every day I wrote a quote in the notebook. Every day the quote was how I was feeling. Sometimes it was made up, sometimes I saw if or remembered it from somewhere.

I started the notebook right before I ran away. I was locked in my room one night, bored stiff and I just started writing lines down that related to my life. One thing about having a photographic memory was the fact that I could tell you almost anything I did on any given day, but I just needed a slight reminder. The notebook was a reminder, it was so I wouldn't forget my life.

I opened it up to the page I was writing on and scribbled:

_"This is life where we pray for dollars and work for change." _

-Atmosphere

I spent a while flipping through the quotes and trying to remember what struck me to write those lines.

After a while I put the notebook back under my pillow and fumbled around for my pill bottle on my night stand. I read the label they were prescribed to, _Gerald Kinton. _Who the hell was Gerald Kinton and why did his drugs end up in the hands of a drug dealer.

"Z! Abby and Logan are making food! Bon fire on the beach!" Dax's voice yelled before ripping my curtain open.

"Jesus, Dax! Do you mind?" I yelled and swallowed my pill.

Dax laughed, "Why? What the hell were you about to do?"

I glared at him and got to my feet, "You have a sick mind, my friend."

I started walking to the back door. Dax followed.

"Honestly, Zion, when was the last time you got laid?" He asked.

"Dax! Does it ever occur to you that there is more things to worry about than sex?"

We were now on the beach, Dax laughed, "No! Come on it'll loosen you up a bit. You're kind of being uptight lately."

"Not, uptight. Stressed."

"Stressed about what?" Conner asked, passing Dax and me a hot dog and roasting stick.

"Zion hasn't had sex in months," Dax answered.

I glared at him, "I really fuckin' hate you."

Jordan and Pete laughed.

"Dax, let him be," Logan said, defending me.

"Thanks, Log," I told her.

"Man, we need to go out tonight!" Pete said, over enthused.

"No, we really don't, "I said.

"Pussy," Dax muttered.

Logan covered Tanner's ears, "Dax!"

Dax shrugged and bit into his now blackened hotdog.

"You guys know I hate going out. I can't drink or smoke with you guys. Do you realize how boring clubs are when you're the only sober one?"

"Then get a new heart," Pete muttered, biting into his fourth hotdog.

"How much have you smoked today?" Pace asked him.

He shrugged.

Abby sighed, "I know how you feel, Z. I can't do anything, either. I don't get laid either."

"You're pregnant, you don't need to get laid," Dax muttered.

"Take it from me, children. Sex leads to bad things," Abby said, her hands flying up.

We all looked at her for awhile, Dax broke the silence, "We're totally going out."

And that's what we ended up doing. Jordan snuck us into a club and my friends got drunk and high. I sat and watched them, hating myself every minute.

Dax handed me a drink, I know I wasn't supposed to touch alcohol. It messed up my heart rate even more, but I didn't care. I drank one drink and was pushed towards a blonde with too much make up and a dress that barley covered her butt.

I had sex with her in the men's bathroom. I didn't even know her name, I didn't even know her age. I barley saw her face.

Once we were down and she left. I puked four times and still had the taste of her lipstick in my mouth.


	5. Zita 5

**Hey guys. So, I've decided to go on with this story. For all of you guys who read Cruz Control I think you'll like this chapter. So please review, it takes about thirty seconds and it really does help me with my writing. Thanks. Happy Easter!  
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**Zita**

After the final bell rang on the first day of school I breathed a sigh of relief. I made it through my first day, only about a hundred and seventy more.

I rushed to my locker and to the locker room to get changed for soccer practice. Kylee met up with me on the way to the locker room. Kylee was the goalie for our soccer team. Her position suited her, she is the loudest person off the field and the loudest on. I play right midfield. I was fast and I loved to run, making the position perfect for me.

The fact that I didn't talk a lot didn't really matter on the soccer field. My teammates knew me so well and they knew how to read me. They knew where I was heading on the field and what I was going to do once I got the ball.

"Hey, what are you doing after practice?" Kylee asked me, as she pulled on her practice jersey.

"I'm babysitting."

She smiled, "For which group of hooligans?"

"Cruz and Lia's."

Her smile grew, she had a giant crush on Cruz for as long as I can remember. In fact, the majority of the girls at school claimed to be in love with Cruz and that's why the popular girls didn't come after me.

"What are they up to tonight?" Kylee asked.

I shrugged, pulling on my cutoff, "Cruz has a banquet in Chicago. Something for one of his charities."

Cruz founded two charities after he'd become a professional skateboarder. One was for kids with dyslexia and he launched a campaign to bring awareness to learning disabilities not easily spotted. The other one was for gang violence. He talked to middle schoolers and high schoolers in heavy gang populated cities. He tried to teach a lot of kids to skate in hopes that they would find skating better than gangbanging.

"You ready?" Kylee asked, after I laced my up my cleats.

I nodded and followed her outside and down to the soccer field. Kylee chatted the whole way about how her and TJ really hit it off during chemistry.

I made a face, "Can we not talk about chemistry. I'm trying not to think about the rest of this year."

She smiled, "You have to admit Zion is pretty cute."

She was right. He was cute, so cute that I couldn't take my eyes off of him the whole class, only when he insulted me did I turn my eyes away.

"There is more to a person than looks, Ky."

She sighed, "Oh, I know. Oh look, there's TJ right now!"

I looked to where she was pointing. TJ was walking down to the football field with some other guys, all geared up and carrying their helmets.

He smiled and waved as soon as he saw Kylee and me staring. I turned away blushing as Carson grinned at.

Kylee elbowed me, "Z, Carson is totally noticing you. Why'd you turn away."

I shrugged and started walking towards the rest of the team.

"Fuentes, Kaster! Hurry up!" Coach Mike called to us.

"Hold your horses, we're coming," Kylee called to him a couple seconds before we reached them.

Coach rolled his eyes at her and jumped into his season starter speech. I zoned him out, the speech had been the same for the past four years, and I found myself turning my attention towards the football team.

TJ, Carson, and the rest of their group were standing around the water cooler, looking at our team and pointing. Carson caught me looking and winked with a giant grin.

"Z, stop gawkin' at the pretty boys and pay attention to what I'm about to say," Coach said, clapping his hands in front of my face.

I felt my cheeks grow red and I muttered, "Sorry."

There were giggles all throughout the team and Kylee elbowed me once again, raising her eyebrows.

"Sometimes I wonder why I decided to coach the girls team," Coach muttered.

"Because you had no choice," Alison Reger, one of our defensemen, said.

"As I was saying," Coach started up again, "A new year means new captains. Captains are usually the strongest spots on the team. The girls who are captains have the responsibility of pulling the team together both on and off the field. So this year our captains are Sarah," Coach handed Sarah Golden a captains band, "And boy gawking Zita Fuentes."

My eyes went wide as I took the royal blue captains band from Coach. Kylee clapped me on the back and the rest of the girls let out squeals and words of congratulations to Sarah and me.

Sarah was a junior forward. She was very talented on the field, but she wasn't the best player. However, she was very outgoing and great at talking to people and motivating the team. We all expected her to get it, but I expected Kylee to get the other spot over me.

I smiled at Sarah and she smiled back.

"Come on you two, try them on. Let's see them in action while we run four laps!" Coach said with a grin.

There were glares and groans, but we all obediently started running around the field, Sarah and I side by side leading the pack.

It was safe to say that I was one of the only girls who stayed in shape over the summer. Even Sarah started slowing her pace toward the end of the third lap. Kylee was yelling at Coach to let us stop.

Coach was so annoyed with how much out of shape we were and he made us stop and do sprints instead. That's what we ended up doing all practice. We did so many suicides that I lost count, most girls dropped out towards the end of practice and eventually coach blew his whistle. I was the last one to stop, coach had to physically stop me by grabbing my arm.

"Zita, settle down. What's gotten into you?" He asked, as I tried to catch my breath.

I shrugged, placing my hands on my knees.

The truth is I didn't mind running, in fact it was kind of like my drug. It calmed it, it allowed me to clear my mind. Once I started running and got into a stride I hated stopping for anything, stopping means that I would have to face the rest of the earth again. Stopping meant that I couldn't out run the world.

"Jeesh, Miss Overachiever," Kylee said, in-between gasps of air. "I don't think I've ran since last season."

"Thank God you're the goalie," Brooke Fields, another forward stated.

I laughed and Kylee rolled her eyes.

"You guys can go, whenever you don't feel like you're gonna faint."

"Or puke," Kylee shouted at him, slamming herself down on the cool grass.

I sat down next to her and looked up to the sky, seeing the dark clouds pass over, "Is it supposed to rain tonight?"I asked.

"I don't know, Z," Kylee shrieked.

"Anybody know what time it is?" Brianna Toyet, the left mid, asked.

"Almost six," Kylee muttered, hitting the button on her phone to light up the screen.

I scrambled to my feet, "Dang, I gotta go."

"Tell Cruz I say hi," Ky shouted as I grabbed my bags and headed to my car.

"Oh, me too!" Alison called.

I rolled my eyes and started up to the parking lot.

With my luck, football practice was just getting out and all the guys were heading towards the locker room, most of them shirtless and drenched in sweat.

"Hey, Zita! Wait up!" I heard a voice behind me say.

I turned around and wasn't surprised to find Carson jogging to catch up with me.

I slowed my pace.

"Hey I was watching you practice over there, you're pretty kick ass," He said, his white teeth gleaming as he smiled at me.

Carson was the captain of the football team and one of the richest kids in school. Those two factors automatically made him the most popular guy in school. Popular guys didn't talk to me.

"Why are you talking to me?" I asked and automatically felt my cheeks grow hot in shame. I never talked to anybody that way. In fact I hardly ever talked to anybody new.

His grin got wider, "What, I can't talk to you?"

I shrugged, "I don't know."

He put his sun kissed hand on my elbow, "I'm having a party this Friday night after our first game. I was wondering if you wanted to come. You know bring Kylee. It'll be a good time."

I looked at him. He was the ultimate pretty boy. His blonde hair was usually styled to look windblown and after wearing his helmet it didn't look much different. He was tall and muscular. His shirt was off and I could see every lean muscle on his stomach and arms.

"We have our first game then too," I muttered and turned to my car.

"Come after."

"I'll think about it."

He didn't let go of my elbow and I froze. I literally locked up and became stiff. My eyes grew in fear as a flash back of my birth father towering over me clouded my thoughts.

"Let go of me," I hissed in-between clenched teeth.

He dropped my elbow like it was on fire, "What's wrong?"

I shook my head and turned my back to him, "Nothing."

"Okay, then will you come to my party?" He asked.

I shrugged and started walking faster to my car and muttered, "I'll see."

The drive to Cruz's house was about ten minutes. The whole way there I thought about Carson. I knew guys like him were only after one thing, but I never had a boyfriend. Considering I was a senior in high school, I think it was safe to say that it was time that I had one. I came to the conclusion that not every boy is going to be perfect and maybe my standards were too high.

Cruz lived in a neighborhood that had been dominated by new parents and newlyweds. It was a newer neighborhood and the majority of the houses looked the same. Cruz house was an exception, he hated following the crowd.

Cruz and Lia's house was probably the biggest on the street, but it was only one story with a fixed up basement. They'd bought it right after they got married and were in the middle of building a giant house on the shores of Lake Michigan.

They didn't want to build a new house so soon, but when Lia found out she was pregnant with twins they figured their two bedroom house wouldn't cut it. Their two boys already shared a room and they were already running into walls and their toys ruled every room of the house.

Echo was the oldest of the two boys. He was three and extremely busy. He was always getting into something. You had to keep him occupied with something or else you were going to have a disaster on your hands sooner or later. He may have been busy, but he was always happy. He was always laughing and smiling.

Oakly was the youngest. He was the complete opposite of his big brother. He was eighteen months and quieter than his brother. He was the snuggly one and loved to suck on his thumb or pacifier. He had Cruz's eyes and thick dark hair, but his personality resembled his mom's.

When I pulled into Cruz's driveway I locked my car doors and knocked on the door. I never bothered to wait for an answer, I just went in.

I walked into complete madness.

Cruz was chasing Echo around the house, both of them screaming at the top of their lungs. Cruz had on a tux and he already managed to put a hole in one of his dress socks. Oakly stood in the middle of the commotion and watched his father and brother, wide eyed. Deogee, Cruz's black and white huge American Bulldog, was chasing both Cruz and Echo. Lia wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Hey!" Cruz said, grabbing Echo and flipping him over his shoulder.

"Hi," I said, setting my bag down next to the couch and slipping my shoes off.

I loved the house's layout. Everything was so open. The kitchen and living room where connected by an arch. Every appliance in their house was top notch. The kitchen had complete stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops marked with tiny finger prints.

"How was practice?" Cruz asked, swinging Echo around.

I shrugged, "We just ran the whole time."

"Dad, put me down!" Echo squawked at Cruz.

"I don't think so!" Cruz yelled and ran around the living room with him in his arms.

Deogee sprinted after them, knocking Oakly to his butt just as Lia appeared.

She sighed and scooped Oakly up, "You guys need to watch out for the baby."

"Sorry, Oak!" Cruz shouted over Echo's laugher and Deogee's barking.

Lia was wearing a tight fitting black dress, drawing attention to her protruding belly.

"You look nice," I told her.

She chuckled and shook her head, " I couldn't find anything that would hide my stomach."

I laughed a little. She set Oakly on the island and filled a sippy cup full of juice for him.

"They're both fed and bathed. So basically put them to bed in a couple hours and change Oakly every now and then. Find some way to keep the entertained until they crash," She smiled and shook her head, "I don't know why I'm telling you this. You take better care of them than we do."

I smiled and watched Oakly start to crawl down the island from a chair. He was at that stage where he climbed on everything.

"We should be back around one give or take, it depends. You know how Cruz is."

I nodded and we watched Oakly start running to his dad and brother, his diaper swishing, his sippy cup in the crook of his arm.

"Cruz, I swear if you rip your suit, I'm going to strange you with your tie that you forgot in our room," Lia playfully shouted at her husband.

Cruz stopped and looked down, "Shit, I knew I was forgetting something."

"Yeah, come here," Lia commanded.

Cruz sighed and put Echo down, "Sorry, Bud."

Cruz's blue eyes lit up when he saw Lia up close and his mouth crept into a grin.

"What?" She asked, throwing the tie around his neck and tying it for him.

"Have you gained some weight?" He asked with the signature Fuentes half smile.

She stopped tying for a minute, looked up at him and rolled her eyes before finishing the tie.

"No, some guy knocked me up, again."

Cruz wiggled his eyebrows up and down, "Just some guy?"

Lia nodded and pecked Cruz on the cheek, "Come on, we gotta go. We're gonna be late."

Cruz made a face and sighed, "Boys, your parents are leaving you with this psychotic teenager girl again."

Both boys looked at their father like he was crazy.

Lia rolled her eyes once again and held her arms open, "Give us kisses."

She scooped Oakly up and gave him a kiss on the cheek and then passed Oakly onto Cruz. I smiled as Oak gave Cruz a big smooch on the lips, making Cruz laugh. They both moved onto Echo and left hand in hand.

I sighed, so perfect did exist.

I just had to put myself out there in order to find it.


	6. Zion 6

**Hi. Sorry it took my awhile to get this up. I'm glad this story is building some kind of fan base, makes me feel like my writing isn't totally terrible. Speaking of terrible, sorry in advance for any spelling and grammar issues. I would love for you guys to keep reviewing my stories, if you guys post stuff on here to I'm sure you know how it feels to receive reviews. So thanks for reading and please let me know if I'm doing a good job or sucking completely, because I really have no clue if only two people review with single word reviews.  
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><p><strong>Zion<strong>

When we got home from the club, the rest of the guys crashed, I couldn't settle down. My heart was beating out of control from the alcohol and adrenaline that was rushing through my body. I laid in my bed and the rapid thumping of my heart was enough to make me get out of bed and out of my room.

I nearly jumped when I saw Logan's silhouette sitting on one of the bean bags in the living room.

"Zion, is that you?" She asked.

"How'd you know?"

"Because all the other boys are too drunk to be up and walking around."

I chuckled and sat down in the bean bag next to her, "Why are you up?"

She sighed, "Tanner kept kicking me off the bed. I mean he's so tiny but he takes up the whole thing."

I smiled and tilted my head as I thought of something.

Logan froze, "What are you thinking? I know that look, you're thinking something serious."

I looked at her, "What?"

She sighed, "You look that way when your over intelligent mind comes up with something over intelligent to say. So just say it."

I ran my fingers through my hair, "It's just that, what are you going to do in the future? I mean like you can't get a job, you're a runaway. What are you going to do when Tanner's old enough to be in school. Logan, you'll be seventeen when he's in Kindergarten-."

She cut me off, "I know, Zion. I've been thinking about that a lot lately too. It's just not gonna be possible."

"So, what are you gonna do? Home school him with your ninth grade education?"

She put her head in her hands, "I don't know, Zion. I don't know. That's still a long ways away."

I nodded and took her hand, "Yeah, I'm just sayin' keep thinking about what's best for Tanner, but keep yourself in mind, Log. What's best for you?"

I squeezed her hand and she looked up at me shaking her head.

"I know what's best for both of us, but I can't give him up. He's the only family I have."

I shook my head, "That's not true. I'm practically your brother, along with the rest of the people who live here."

She nodded and wiped a tear slipping out of the corner of her eye.

"You won't be alone, but don't do anything you'll hate yourself for."

She let my hand drop, "Thanks, Z."

I wrapped her in a hug and watched as she disappeared behind the curtain of her room.

The warehouse was so quiet that you could hear the rats rustle around, an eerie reminder that will haunt me forever.

I hated rats. It's not that I find them disgusting like most people, they have just always been there my whole crappy life. They were there in my mom's house in Milwaukee eating the crumbs of the Burger King kids' meal I got once in a while to shut me up, they we're there on the streets and in the shelters once I finally ran away from home, and they were in the place that I felt the safest, the warehouse. I longed for the day that I could finally stray away from the rats. The day I found myself living in a house with no rats, I would know that I had it better than I ever would've thought.

I got to my feet and grabbed my purple hoddie out of my room. I tiptoed out the back door and onto the beach.

The beach was the best at night. It was so calm and still. The moon was covered by clouds and the stars refused to be seen.

I couldn't sit down, because if I sat down I would have to be forced to sit and feel my heart pound against my chest. Instead, I ignored the constant thumping and started walking towards the road.

It was almost three A.M. and the whole town of Fairfield was asleep. No cars were on the road and all the lights were off. I put my hood up and moved to the middle of the road. I walked with my head down, trying to clear my mind and settle my body.

I thought about Logan and Tanner the whole time. I couldn't imagine what Logan was going through. I knew she had the best intentions, she just couldn't stand giving the person she loved the most up.

This situation bugged me, because I was once on Tanner's side. I was so oblivious to what was going on. I was young and I thought my brother loved me. I still wondered if Hayden struggled with leaving me as much as Logan struggled with giving up Tanner. I still questioned why he left me with our mother, I still wondered if he thought about me.

I walked for what seemed like a long time. I found myself heading towards the northern end of Fairfield. I stopped myself and turned around.

Just as I started walking the other way, the rain started. Not just a light sprinkle, but a full out down poor. Thunder cracked soon after.

I couldn't help but to laugh. It was my luck to get stuck in a storm, a twenty minute walk from the warehouse. I could've ran, but I liked the rain for some strange reason. I liked the feeling and the fact that all you could hear was rain hitting the ground.

I could see about a foot in front of me, but I knew Fairfield like the back of my hand. I had roamed this streets many nights before.

Lightning struck in the distance and a rumble of thunder shook the ground. I pulled my hood tighter and kept my head down. As the wind started to pick up, my hair started to stand up. I sensed something was wrong before I saw the lights.

I turned around quickly only to stare into a bright pair of headlights. I was literally a deer caught in the headlights and I didn't have time to move. I closed my eyes and wished that the car would come to a stop before it could hit me or that it would hit me and kill me instantly.

Because death was better than explaining to a bunch of doctors and nurses who I was and where the hell I came from, because quite frankly, I couldn't answer that for myself.


	7. Zita 7

**Oh, hi. Sorry, guys I don't even remember the last time I uploaded, but I am now so please review and tell me what you think and maybe I will be inspired and upload faster. So please upload I hate when people say this, but If I get ten reviews on this chapter I'll upload another chapter within the week. **

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><p><strong>Zita<strong>

I'd fallen asleep on Cruz and Lia's couch soon after I put the boys to bed. I probably would've stayed asleep and not even notice the fact that it was storming out, but the shrill shriek of the phone woke me up at around one AM.

"Zita?" Lia's voice asked on the other end.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"We have to go down to the police station. Cruz just hit somebody with his car."

"What?" I shrieked, goose bumps rising on my arm.

"We don't know what happened. It's raining and the person was in the middle of the road, Cruz didn't see them. We don't know where they went. Cruz sprinted around the car but couldn't find anything." Lia breathed fast, almost in tears.

"I'm sure everything is okay if you can't find the person right, they probably just scared and left."

"Yeah,yeah, okay. Well Cruz is on the phone with your father right now. Are you going to be okay for another couple hours."

"Yeah, go get this settled."

I hung up and I threw my phone on the couch. I sighed and glanced out the giant glass window that stretched along the back wall of the living room and saw the trees swaying and the lightning cracking.

I hated storms. When I was little and just moved in with my adoptive family I would hide in different places whenever a storm would hit and not come out until somebody found me. Over the years I had managed to come out of my hiding places and face the storm head on, but I was still afraid of them. I refused to show my fear of storms, but the people who knew me the best still could see that they scared me.

Instead of hiding places during storms I ignored them by plugging my ear buds into my head and blasting my iPod. I got up and got my iPod out of my backpack and listened to the playlists that I always listened to during the storm titled "Rio's Mix".

Rio was my older brother that was murdered. I found the CD when I was eight in a box of his stuff in Cruz's room. I listened to it on repeat for almost a week in my CD player when I was supposed to be sleeping.

I remember Rio always played that C.D. whenever our birth dad was in one of his drunken rages. Rio would drown out the yelling and crashing of objects by blasting music in his room and we listened to it as we sat on his bed, me cowering into his chest.

The music was all either rap or punk rock. There was your basic 2pac and Eminem to Blink 182 and Weezer. It wasn't the music I usually listened too, but I will always hold a place for those songs in my heart.

I closed my eyes and listened to the music and felt myself drifting to sleep.

"Zita," I felt myself being shaken.

` I opened my eyes, the music had stopped and the sun was up.

I looked up at my brother, whose hair was sticking up all over the place and stubble covered his face.

"What time is it?" I asked him.

"Time for you to go to school," Cruz answered.

I sat up on the couch, "What happened last night."

He sighed and sat at the foot of the couch, "I hit a kid with my car and then we couldn't find the kid."

"So what did the police do?"

He shrugged, "They really can't do anything. They checked to see if anybody had been checked into the hospital and they checked the area around where the accident happen. Lia keeps on telling me that maybe it was a deer."

"But you don't think that."

He shook his head, "I saw him. Like I saw his face and I saw his eyes grow in fear."

"So if you saw this kid would you recognize him?"

He shrugged, "I don't know."

He was silent for a second and then he muttered, "The police think if I did hit a kid it was somebody who didn't want to be found. Like somebody running from the law or somebody trying to hide from somebody else."

"And that's why they ran, because they didn't want to go to the hospital."

He ran his hands down his face, clearly stressed, "I'm still freaking out though. Like what if I hit the kid and he ran away because he hit his head or something."

"Well how did he get away so fast if he was messed up in the head? He clearly knew that he would be going to the hospital."

"Why the fuck was a kid out in the middle of the road during a storm in the first place?"

I shrugged, "Like you said, maybe he's running from something."

Cruz sunk into the couch and let out a long breath, "Or trying to find something."

I didn't go for a run that morning, which pretty much meant that I wouldn't be awake all day. Running was my coffee and seeing Rio's grave eased my mind.

Kylee was waiting by locker when I got to school just before the bell rang.

"Wow, you look rough," Were the first words out of her mouth.

"Thanks, nice to see you too," I muttered twisting in my com.

She chuckled, "Long night?"

I nodded, "I stayed at Cruz's and babysat the boys and then I got a call in the middle of the night saying that Cruz hit a kid."

"He what?" She almost yelled.

"Tone it down, will ya? This can't really get out."

"Okay, tell me everything."

I filled her in on the events that had taken place the night before and had to hold her back from screaming it to the whole school.

"So, what's gonna happen?"

I shrugged, "They can't really do anything unless the kid turns up."

"So, the police think this kid is like a murderer or something?"

I shrugged as we started walking to Peterson's classroom.

To our surprise, Mrs. Peterson wasn't sitting in her desk. Instead, a young blonde guy wearing a navy sweater vest with a green plaid shirt and a white tie with skinny khaki pants tucked into Nike high tops, was swiveling in her chair.

"Unless, Mrs. Peterson has found the cure to turning back time and got a sex change I don't think that's her," Kylee whispered to me.

I just rolled my eyes and slid into my seat. Not to my surprise, Zion wasn't there when the bell rang.

The sub stood up, "Okay! I'm not Mrs. Peterson."

I was expected for somebody to make a comment, but then realized that Zion would probably be the only one who would and his desk was still empty.

He went on, "I'm Mr. Trainer. Mrs. Peterson had an accident yesterday and ended up breaking her hip. She'll be out for quite some time and I'm going to fill in for her while she's gone."

Nobody knew what to do, we all started looking at each other.

Kylee caught my eye and mouthed, "Hot."

I just shook my head and rolled my eyes at her.

Mr. Trainer went on, "So, first things first. Let me tell you about myself."

He pulled himself up to sit on Mrs. Peterson's desk and started kicking his feet back and forth, "I grew up on the north side of Milwaukee, dropped out of school when I was sixteen, and started dealing drugs and breaking into cars."

Everybody stared wide eyed at him in shock. I didn't expect that coming from a _gringo _who happened to be a high school teacher.

"So, when I was twenty I met a girl. She was going to college with my best friend's girlfriend. We met at a party and she made me want to become a better person, just like that. I stopped dealing and got a job at bakery and started night school."

"I got my diploma when I was nineteen and then applied for college in Chicago, where my girlfriend was going to college and got accepted at DePaul University. I decided I wanted to major in chemistry, and then my girlfriend convinced me to become a teacher. And here I stand in front of twenty terrified faces looking at an ex drug dealer as their teacher."

We all tore our eyes off of him and looked at each other, once again.

Kylee had a pissed off look on her face and mouthed, "Girlfriend."

I shook my head again and mouthed, "TJ."

She shrugged and scooted closer to TJ.

"So, you're probably wondering why the heck I just told you all that. Well, I decided I wanted to be open with my students and I wanted to show you guys that sometimes it takes some person to come into your life and change you. Mine happened to be my girlfriend and I'm hoping I will be somebody's person in this room."

We all gawked once more and he smiled, "I also like to make a memorable introduction."

It started storming right in the middle of practice and coach let us go early. Kylee and the rest of the senior girls couldn't stop talking about our new chemistry teacher after practice and took forever in the locker room. I left before any of them and quickly rushed to my car.

It was pouring out and I could barely see five feet ahead of me. I started sprinting to my car, my head down.

"Zita!" I heard somebody yell.

It was a male's voice and I expected it to be Coach.

I looked around and saw a SUV with the hood up and Carson was yelling my name while standing in front of the car.

I hesitated, but rushed over there.

"Hey!" Carson said awkwardly.

I nodded.

"Um, my car's dead and all my friends left. Do you think you could give me a lift home. I mean if it's not too much."

I stared at him for awhile and then realized how stupid I was acting, "Yeah, come on."

I started running towards my car again and he followed after me. I unlocked my black Toyota Corolla and we slid in out of the rain.

I got a good look at Carson while he was digging in his backpack for something, his blonde hair that was usually styled perfectly was plastered to his head with rain water and looked dark brown. He was wearing a hoodie and a pair of work out shorts.

"Thanks for this, coach cancelled practice and I decided to stay and lift. Then my car decided not to start and I saw you."

I gave him a friendly smile and started the car, "Where do you live?"

He told me and I pulled out of the parking lot.

"So, have you thought about coming to my party on Friday?"

I shrugged, "Not really."

He smiled at my honesty making his dimples pop. He_ was_ hot, but he knew it.

"I think it would be cool if you showed up. You know, come right after your game. TJ is freakin' out that Kylee won't come."

"Well, I know for a fact Kylee wouldn't miss a party."

He smiled and I felt his eyes on me, "And you would?"

I shrugged, "I've done it for the last three years of high school, I can do it for this one."

He clicked his tongue, "I get what you're doing."

I looked at him and raised my eye brows, "What?"

"You're playing hard to get."

I laughed, "I'm not playing anything, Carson."

He smirked, "That's what they all say."

I sighed, "Why are you taking an interest to me all of a sudden. I mean we've never spoken, we've hardly ever made eye contact."

He tilted his head to the side, "I never really noticed you before, no offense."

"Not many people have," I muttered.

He shook his head, "I mean I saw you around and I always thought you we're cute, but I never knew your name," he stopped himself, "Well I knew your name, but I didn't know your personality."

I raised my eyebrows, "And you know my personality now?"

"Yesterday , in chemistry when your freak of a partner was saying those things about you, you just blushed and that's about it. I would've punched him out, I thought about doing it for you, but then I completely respect you for keeping a level head."

I shrugged and he pointed to his house as we turned onto his street. It was huge and it was surrounded by more big houses.

I smiled and shook my head, "Trust me, I've been through worse than Zion Ezra's immature comments."

His blue eyes flashed a shade darker and he asked, "Like what?"

I shrugged and for some reason said, "How about I tell you at your party on Friday."


	8. Zion 8

**Hi, I suck at writing and I lie to you guys. It's been passed a week, whoops. Okay well leave a review, they made it easier to review... just sayin'. **

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><p><strong>Zion<strong>

"Hey, buddy. Can you hear me?" I heard somebody say above me.

My eyes flew open and my heart started to flutter in panic.

I tried to sit up, but there were strong hands holding me down.

I cried out as the pain and memories of what happened fled my mind. Then I started screaming, mostly from the pain but also from the confusion and fear of what was going to happen to me.

My head, ribs, and left arm were killing me. I couldn't breathe my ribs hurt so bad.

"Ida, call an ambulance," the voice above me growled.

"No," I managed to whisper, "No hospital."

The hands holding me down let go.

"Wait, Ida," The voice above me said.

Finally the voice shifted so that his face was in my line of vision. He was clearly Mexican with facial hair and shaggy dark hair.

"What's your name kid."

I closed my eyes and breathed, "Zion."

When I opened my eyes his flickered with confusion at my strange name.

"What the fuck happened to you?"

"I don't know," I lied.

I knew what happened. I remembered it clearly, just like I remember everything else. The car hit me and I flew in the air and landed on the other side of it right on my side. I felt completely fine, so I got up and sprinted away. Once I hit the sand of the beach, I felt the pain starting to break through my frozen body and I collapsed and blacked out.

He sighed above me, "You know, don't you?"

I glared at him, "If I did, I wouldn't tell you anyways. I don't even know who the fuck you are."

"I don't even know who the fuck you are, but I'm helping you," He shot back.

I glared at him.

He sighed, "My name's Sam. I own the restaurant just down the beach. Ida, my cook, found you when he was leaving."

I groaned in pain as I tried to sit up.

"Hey take it easy. How old are you?" Sam asked me.

"Nineteen," I muttered through gritted teeth, completely lying.

"So, I take it you don't live with your parents?"

"No, got out of there as soon as possible."

Sam nodded like he understood, "So, you live by yourself?"

I nodded, lying once again.

"Is there anybody I can call?"

"I don't know anybody around here, I just moved here. Anyways, I don't have many friends at all."

His eyes softened and he turned to Ida, "Call Santi."

I watched Ida as he left. He was a big guy, probably six five or so, at least three hundred pounds and Mexican like Sam. He was covered in tattoos and I couldn't help but notice the ones that he and Sam had in common.

I'd seen those tattoos before around town, but they were always on older guys. Dax told me that they were from some gang that got torn up a while back.

"Whose Santi?" I asked.

"My best friend. He's a doctor."

I started to object, but he signaled for me to shut up, "He's cool. He does this kind of stuff all the time."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Believe or not, Zion, there are a lot of people like you that don't want to be found in the world and when they need help they call Santiago."

"Does this guy have a real job?"

He nodded, "He's a trauma surgeon. Damn good at what he does too."

"I just hate hospitals," I muttered, "Bad things happen there."

Sam nodded, as if he believed me, "Yeah, I know."

Santiago was Mexican just like Sam and Ida, but he was a lot more clean cut. It was clear that he had been sleeping when Ida called him. He was wearing a college t-shirt, baggy sweat pants, and slippers.

His hair was cut neatly, unlike Sam's whose stuck out all over the place. He had a shadow of stubble on his chin, from not shaving yet and the same tattoos on his arms as Sam and Ida.

"Ida, go home before your wife hits me with another shoe," Sam told Ida.

Santiago looked down at me and let a breath of air escape from his teeth.

He turned towards Sam, "Go get my backpack from my car."

Sam nodded and started jogging away.

"I'm Santiago, everybody calls me Santi though."

"Zion," I muttered.

"Interesting name."

I grunted.

He started looking me over, starting with my wrist. I cried out in pain at first, but shut myself up by biting my lip.

"Yeah, that doesn't look good." He said, scrunching his nose.

I would've made a smartass remark, but I didn't have the energy.

He moved on to my ribs and again I chopped down on my lip to keep myself crying out in pain.

He lifted my shirt and I objected a bit, but he just shhed me.

"I can't see anything anyways. Sam, let's get him in the restaurant."

Sam had returned, a backpack in his hands, "Okay," He said, slinging the backpack on his back.

"Can you sit up?" Santi asked me.

"Yeah," I muttered and slowly sat up, but tasted blood as I bit my lip hard.

"Okay, you grab his right arm and pull him up." Santi told Sam.

Sam nodded and grabbed under my right arm and helped me get my footing.

"You good?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," I whispered as Santi grabbed my other side, carefully not touching my wrist.

Sam's restaurant was only about a hundred feet away, but it took forever to get there.

It was a small diner open twenty four hours. Luckily there wasn't anybody in there, except the waitress who gave Sam a look and just shook her head.

They drug me to a back room, that looked to be Sam's office, and set me down on the loveseat.

"God, you look worse in the light, if that's possible." Sam muttered.

Santi wasted no time, he ripped my shirt so that he could get it off without moving me anymore. He flinched a bit at the damage, but it was Sam that gasped.

Santiago looked at his best friend and pointed to the door, "Sam, I'll let you know if I need you."

"How about I sit over at my desk."

"Fine, just shut up, alright."

"_Dios mios,_" Sam muttered as he sat down at his desk.

"What?" I hissed.

Santi shook his head as he started pressing around, "Just some bruising, that's it."

He reached down for his backpack and pulled out a stethoscope, I hated those things because they always gave me away.

"Are you seriously going to waste your time pressing that on my chest when I'm in pain. I'm breathing, my hearts beating, I'm alive so just fix me," I muttered.

He looked in my eyes and shrugged, "Fine. If you say so."

"It's just a waste of time," I muttered, relieved to say the least.

He moved his hand down my right arm and froze.

I knew what he was looking at, trust me I had to look at it for practically my whole life. The scar that covered my arm from my wrist to my elbow was the reason why I wore long sleeve shirts all the time. The reason I'm left handed.

The incident leading to the scar happened when I was six, right after my first day of school. I remember I was so excited to tell my mom about my first day and all the friends I made. When I got home, Mom was completely wasted and her boyfriend of the time was beyond high.

Hayden wasn't home yet and I was hungry. I moved the chair so that I could reach the plates up in the top counter, as I grabbed one in my tiny fingers my mom's boyfriend, whose name I couldn't remember, said something and it spooked me. I don't remember what he said, but I remember him sneaking up on me.

The plate crashed to the ground, shattering to a million tiny pieces. Mom's boyfriend started laughing and then he grabbed me by the collar of the shirt. He picked up a piece of the shattered glass, threw me against the fridge, and held the piece of glass to my throat. I thought I was going to die, I really did.

He just laughed at my reaction and then moved the glass down to my arm and slid it from the top of my wrist to where my arm bent. He laughed as I started to cry and blood started pouring out of my arm.

"What the hell is going on!" Hayden asked, coming into the kitchen his backpack on his back.

Mom's boyfriend just dropped the piece of plate and smiled at me. I would never forget that smile and that dazed look in his eyes.

Hayden saw what was happening and pushed Mom's boyfriend out of the way. He grabbed a dish towel and tried to wrap it around my arm, but the gash was too big. I felt light headed and before I knew it everything went dark.

I woke up on Hayden's bed, he had literally sewed the gash in my arm close and kept on feeding me Nyquil to knock me out and keep the pain away.

I stayed home from school for twelve days and so did Hayden. He pulled the thread out when I was asleep one night and the jagged scar has been there ever since.

Even at six I knew that I couldn't go to the hospital when I needed, because my brother and I would've gotten taken away and separated. I couldn't even explain to my teacher why I was gone for twelve days. Hayden forged a note saying that my arm got ripped open by a nail when I was climbing a tree house. She then taught me how to hold a pencil in my left hand, because I could barley move my right.

"Where'd you get that scar? It's pretty nasty." Santi asked, something stirring in his eyes.

"Nowhere," I muttered, closing my eyes.

He sighed and as I opened my eyes I saw that he held a pill bottle.

"Sam, go get some water," Santi muttered.

I heard Sam get up from his desk and leave the room.

"Okay, look Zion, I've dealt with a lot of stuff over the past years, but if you're hurting yourself…"

He didn't finish because I started laughing, "You think I did this to myself? God, you're an idiot."

"Then who did it to you?"

I just shook my head, "Doesn't matter anymore."

Sam re-entered the room with a glass of water.

He said something to Santi in Spanish and Santi said something back to him.

Santi took out three pills and handed them to me with the glass of water, "Take these, they'll make you go to sleep."

I shrugged and managed to swallow them down.

Santi and Sam started a conversation in Spanish and I tried to grasp what they were saying but before I knew it I was slipping into a deep sleep.

When I woke up it was bright out and I was still in Sam's office. It was probably nine o'clock in the morning.

My whole body was soar, but there wasn't any searing pain like the night before. I sat up slowly and looked around. Sam or Santi wasn't anywhere to be found.

I automatically noticed the window above Sam's desk and I walked over there. I used his chair to get on the desk and slid the door open.

Every muscle in my body was screaming at me, but I fought the pain and dropped out of the window.

And without looking back I headed for the warehouse.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Dax asked as I limped up the beach.

Dax, Jordan, Logan, Tanner, and Violet were sitting around a bonfire on the beach, cooking something.

I just shook my head and headed for the door.

Dax and Jordan got up and followed me. They grabbed my arm and helped me to my bed.

"What happened?" Dax asked again, as they lowered me down to my bed.

"I was hit by a car, okay?"

His eyes went wide, "What?"

"I'm fine, just a little bruised. I just need to sleep."

Jordan nodded to Dax and Dax nodded back, Jordan left a second later.

"Dude." Dax muttered.

"Just leave me alone."

He sat on the edge of my mattress, "You look like death and I am not going anywhere."

I glared at him, but was too tired to care.

As I started to slip into sleep I heard him mutter, "And you're supposed to be the smart one, Z, but you scare me all the time."


	9. Zita 9

**Oh, hi. I guess this would be a great time to tell you I'm not dead. **

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><p><strong>Zita<strong>

Friday came faster than I expected it to. The school days drug on, but somehow the first week of senior year went by in a flash.

Soccer practice was the only thing I looked forward to during the day.

It was only the first week and already I couldn't stand my classes and Kylee was annoying me. Kylee was completely hung up on TJ, he was all she talked about. She looked forward to chemistry everyday to have an excuse to touch TJ's arm and to flirt with Mr. Trainer. It just wasn't Kylee that flirted with him, it was every girl in the class except for me. I even think some of the guys were falling for him.

As for me, I didn't think of him in that way. Sure, he was cute, but he was also way older than us and it's kind of creepy to think about your teacher in the manner that Kylee would tell me she was thinking.

To top it all off, Mr. Trainer assigned us our first assignment. The assignment was to spend some time outside of class with our partner, to get to know them a little more. He even gave us a sheet of questions that we had to ask the other person. Like Mrs. Peterson, Mr. Trainer refused to change our partners, and I was still stuck with Zion. The problem was Zion hadn't showed up for class since the first day of school.

In other words, I was screwed.

By the time the final bell rang on Friday I was only thinking about the game. I was so excited and nervous at the same time. I never knew how I would play, or how the team would play. I worried about Kylee, sometimes when she got caught up with other things, such as a boy, her head wasn't fully in the game. And we needed our goalie to be completely in the game.

Our game wasn't until six, but coach wanted us to meet right after school to go over a few plays and finalize positions. He was bringing food, so nobody really complained.

The locker room was buzzing with excitement. The underclassmen were nervous, you could tell by the way they were talking. They avoided even saying the word "soccer."

The seniors were different, we've been through this many times before. Kylee was talking, because she simply didn't know how to shut up, but I tuned her out and got changed quietly.

I was the first one out of the locker room, almost fully dressed. I just didn't have my shin guards on yet.

Our uniforms were pretty cool. Our school colors were blue and black. They had been changed a lot over the years, something about the students being fussy. I just like to think that the student council is made up of blonde bimbos that had nothing better to do than change our school colors.

The jerseys were all black with a royal blue sash going from the shoulder down the body, it was inspired by the team USA's uniform a couple years back. To go with the jersey we had royal blue shorts and white socks. Our last name and number was printed on the back of the jersey. I sported number 16.

The team also had warm ups. The jackets were all black and the sweatpants were all black as well.

Coach was on the field already. A box with subs sat next to him.

"Well, Zita Fuentes," He said when he saw me.

I smiled at him and fished around for the sandwich marked with my name.

"You nervous?" He asked.

I shook my head, "Not really. I'm more excited than nervous," I said finding my sandwich and sitting down against the goalpost.

He nodded, "Good."

The next hour we went over corner kick plays and rotations.

By the time five rolled around the other team had arrived. The didn't seem very intimidating, but they had a lot of tall girls on their team. We only had one girl over five foot five.

Coach noticed us watching them, "Girls, don't watch them. It will only make you more nervous. Come on, let's run some drills."

So we ran a couple drills and then shot around, getting Kylee warmed up.

"Zita!" I heard my name.

I turned around to see Papá and Cruz waving me over to them.

I smiled and jogged to them.

"Hey, _chica._ You kick ass tonight, okay?" Cruz said punching my arm.

"Cruz!" Papá scolded.

I just chuckled, "Don't worry, I will."

Cruz turned to Papá and nodded, "See she will."

Papá rolled his eyes, "We just wanted to wish you luck."

"Thanks," I replied.

"The whole family's not here, so you don't have to worry about loud screaming coming from the fan section," Cruz added.

We all laughed because we knew that Cruz was the one to cheer the loudest, I feel sorry for his kids when they grow up.

The coach called the team in.

"I gotta go," I said.

They both kissed me on the cheek and wished me good luck one more time before I ran off to join the team.

The game was close and dirty. The other team used their as a weapon and our girls kept falling all over the place. By the second half we were tied 1-1. Sarah scored the goal for our team off a break away.

Also by the second half most of our team was pissed off and kept on pushing back, only to get called out on it by the refs. Alison was carded and Brianna was close.

I heard Cruz yelling from the sidelines the whole game and Papá started to join him after awhile.

I was getting tiered, we all were including the other team. However, I refused to give up.

To make matters worse it started to pour a couple minutes before the end of the game, making the ball and field slippery. I knew I was covered in mud within minutes, but didn't care.

Kylee caught a shot and punted me the ball. I stopped it and dribbled it around some of the other teams players and then passed it up to Meg, one of the forwards, she shot. It bounced off the goalpost and came flying right to me.

I went up for the header at the same time a girl from the other team did and we collided. It wasn't our heads that collided, it was the fact that our bodies got tangled and we both ended on stomachs.

Somehow, I still got my head on the ball and from the ground I saw the ball slip through the goalie's hands and into the net.

Everybody started screaming and jumping. I stayed on the ground and smiled.

Sarah and Allison helped me to feet and wrapped me in a hug. We all hurried to our spots, but the ref blew the whistle before we could get there.

Kylee was the first one to cheer and we all laughed and smiled. We hugged each other on a good game and shook hands with the other team.

Coach was happy that we won, but still thought we needed improvement.

"You guys were sloppy, but good work out there tonight."

We were dismissed to go. Kylee, Allison, Sarah, and I all walked across the field together.

"So, we going to Carson's party or what?" Kylee asked.

"What time is it?" Allison asked.

"The party started after the football game, which should be getting down right about now."

"Well, I'm starving. Can we get some food and then head over there? People won't start showing up until later anyways." Sarah said.

We all nodded in agreement and went to greet our families.

"There's David Beckham herself!" Cruz shouted when he wrapped me in a hug and lifted me up.

"_Hermano_ that doesn't make any sense," I said as he set me down.

He shrugged, "Makes sense to me."

"I think what your brother is trying to say is good game." Papá said and hugged me.

"That's what I thought he was getting at," I said, smiling.

"That shot was amazing, I don't know how you did," Cruz said, pride lighting up his face.

I just laughed and asked Papá, "Some of the girls and I are going to go get dinner and then hang out afterwards, is that okay?"

Papá shrugged, "Depends where you're hanging out."

I looked at Cruz for help, but he didn't get the clue.

I shrugged, "Some guy's having a party."

Papá raised his eyebrows, "Is there gonna be drinking?"

I shook my head, "Not that I know of, and anyways you know me. You can trust me."

Cruz elbowed him, "That's what I always said too."

"Yeah, but the difference is that I never did trust you, I still don't."

Cruz rolled his eyes, "Nonsense."

"So can I go?" I asked, ignoring their bickering.

Papá nodded, "Be home by midnight, or else."

Cruz nodded, "The or else got me every time."

"Every time." Papá agreed.

I rolled my eyes and noticed Kylee coming towards us.

"Kylee Kaster!" Cruz exclaimed.

"Cruz Fuentes, fancy seeing you here," Kylee said.

"Well, I came strictly to see you," Cruz said.

"I'm flattered," Kylee said. "Señor Alejandro," She added, nodding to Papá.

Papá rolled his eyes, "Kylee, always a pleasure."

"If it's okay for you, I'm going to steal your daughter for the time being. I'll have her home before curfew, I promise."

"Don't trust anything she says. She once told me that she was going to have my children. I have two and two more on the way, not one popped out of her," Cruz added.

Papá and I glared at him, Kylee slapped his arm, Cruz shrugged.

"Well we're gonna leave now," I told them.

Papá kissed my cheek, "Don't have too much fun, _niñas._"

"We'll try, no promises," Kylee said, dragging me away.

"See, what did I tell you? Can't trust her at all." Cruz said turning towards Papá.

We decided to go to the local pizza joint for dinner. We got an extra large pizza and Allison and Kylee ate the majority of it. Then somehow I was picked to be the driver.

"I'm so excited for this party!" Kylee said, washing down her last piece of pizza with a drink of soda.

"Me too," Allison said, "It's been too long."

"Who do you guys think the hottest guy on the football team is?" Sarah asked.

Kylee made a face, "Come on Sarah, what are we in seventh grade again?"

"She just doesn't want to answer. Obviously she thinks TJ is," I said, softening the blow from my best friend.

Kylee glared at me, "And Z thinks Carson is pretty yummy."

"I actually never said that. Carson's not my type, you know that."

"What the hell is your type then, Z?" Kylee asked.

I shrugged.

Sarah turned to me and raised her eyebrows, "So you're saying, tall, muscular, nice, and handsome isn't your type?"

Kylee nodded, "What can I say, she has no hormones."

I punched her in the arm.  
>"Hey!"<p>

"Can we just go and get this over with?" I asked.

"Jeesh, don't sound so excited," Allison said.

By the time we got to Carson's house, there was no parking spaces anywhere near his house. We had to park a ways down his street.

"This is inconvenient if the cops come," Kylee muttered.

"We can jump into the lake and swim," Allison.

"To where, Canada? I don't think that's gonna help us."

"Guys, I just realized we're still covered in mud," Sarah said.

"Sarah, you worry way too much," Kylee told her.

"Half the people here are gonna be too drunk to notice, and the other will be sober enough to realize that we came right from a game," Allison said.

"I hate parties," I muttered.

"Well sometimes I hate you, but you don't hear me complaining, do you?" Kylee shot.

I pushed her.

"One of these times you're gonna break my neck and then your ass is gonna be in the net."

"Oh yeah," I muttered sarcastically.

When we stepped on Carson's driveway we could feel the vibrations from the music.

"Yeah, the cops are gonna get called to this one." Sarah said.

"He has no neighbors," Kylee added.

"My brothers building a house just down the road," I said.

"Yeah, I don't think we really have to worry about Cruz. He's probably beating some sophomores at beer pong as we speak," Kylee muttered.

We opened the front door into complete chaos. People had turned Carson's huge living room into a dance floor and were spilling beer and booze all over the place. There had to be close to a hundred people crammed into the room dancing to Dubstep.

Sarah shouted something to us, but we couldn't make it out.

Then Kylee was getting grabbed by the waist. TJ was completely wasted, but Kylee's face still lit up. She waved goodbye to us and danced her way to the center of the dance floor with TJ.

"Then there were three," Allison shouted in my ear, but when we turned to Sarah she was gone.

"Maybe not," Allison shouted back.

I smiled and followed her lead as we made our way out of the living room.

The kitchen was almost as bad, only it was alcohol central. Carson's table had been transformed into the arena for any drinking game imaginable. The island was full of bottles with dark liquids and clear.

"You wanna drink?" Allison asked.

I shook my head and held up my keys, "There was a reason I was voted designated driver."

She smiled, "I'm gonna go make one."

I nodded and tried to identify the people.

I barley recognized any of them, I assumed that most were from different schools.

I pushed my way through the sea of people and found a door leading outside. I slid it open and ended up on a pool deck. There were girls and guys playing chicken, just in their underwear. Somebody had put bubbles in the hot tub and people were getting pushed and dragged in.

I decided to get away before I ended up in the water.

It was still kind of drizzling out, so not many people strayed onto the beach. It was the only place that was quiet. I started making my way towards it.

"Zita!" I heard my name.

I turned around to see Carson running towards me, a grin on his face.

He had changed out of his football uniform and into jeans and a polo. To my surprise he was completely sober.

"Hey, you came," he said when he caught up to me.

I nodded, "I told you I would."

He nodded.

"So how're you liking the party so far?" He asked as we walked towards the water.

I shrugged, "I just got here and its pretty crazy."

He nodded, "Tell me about it. I just told some of the guys and a few people I actually wanted to hang out with and somehow it turned out like this."

"Are you going to get into any trouble from this?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Probably. My parents are in Europe for three weeks, though."

We reached the water and I sat down on the sand, he followed my lead, "Whoa, why?"

He shrugged, "My dad had to go for his business and Mom just went with him."

"And they just left you all alone?" I asked.

He nodded, "It's okay. They go away a lot."

"That must be hard."

He shrugged, "I get used to it."

Carson moved his hand so that it covered mine, "Zita, you're like one of the coolest girls I've met."

I raised my eyebrows, "That's the first time I ever got that one."

He grinned, "I'm not very smooth around girls."

"I'm not very smooth around people in general."

That made him laugh and he turned his head to the side and slowly started to lean in.

My whole body froze and my heart started beating. He was going to kiss me. He was actually going to kiss me!

"Carson! We got a problem!" Somebody shouted behind us.

Carson muttered a curse under his breath and we both turned to see Kevin, a member of the football team, said.

"What?" Carson hissed.

"You might want to come and see," Kevin said.

Carson sighed and got to his feet, "Zita I'm sorry about his, just stay put and I'll be back okay?"

I nodded and watched him walk back to the house.

It was cold on the beach and damp on the beach. A shiver ripped through me and I almost thought about heading back myself.

Then I heard footsteps. I turned around expecting to see Carson.

"Fuck, it's you. I thought you were someone else."

I scrunched my face up .

It wasn't Carter, but Zion Ezra. His hood to his sweatshirt up, his hands shoved in his jeans pockets, and that goofy grin on his plastered onto his face.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"This is my beach. I own it." He shrugged and sat down next to me.

I glared at him and noticed that he had a dark bruise around his eye and a cut on his cheek.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"I joined a gang."

I rolled my eyes.

He smirked and laid back on his elbows, one of his legs bent.

"I really hate parties." He muttered.  
>" I really hate you, but you don't hear me complaining about it," I muttered.<p>

He looked over at me and laughed.


	10. Just a little question

Okay…

Quick poll, do people actually read this story? I know there are a few people, but I only got two reviews on the last chapter and I don't know if I should continue. I really love writing this story, but I don't know if I should post any more chapters or just write it just for me. It would be much appreciated if I get some reviews or messages telling me to continue or to stop altogether.

That is all.


	11. Zion 10

**Oh, hi. So I'm sorry I kind of stopped writing for awhile, actually for a long time. I got busy and then when I got time to write it just wasn't flowing together. I'm sure most of you are familiar with that feeling. Anyways when stuff started to flow again I put the chapter up and there was like no reviews on it and I was almost certain you guys had given up hope on me, trust me I would have too. Then I saw you guys actually wanted me to continue, this chapter took me a while to make flow too, but I think I got the kinks out. So it would be great if you guys would review this chapter, tell me how I'm doing, yell at me for not updating anything for a long time, whatever just let me know you're reading. If you want to private message me that would be cool too. Thanks, you guys are the best, I'm an idiot. Please review!  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Zion<strong>

"So, when are you going back to school?"

I groaned and rolled onto my stomach, covering my head with one of my pillows, "Never," I muttered.

Logan sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"When are you going to get out of bed?" She asked.

"Never," I muttered.

It was the first Friday of the school year, four days after the accident. I had spent those four days in my bed, asleep, letting my body heal.

"Come on, Zion." Logan said, trying to rip the covers off, but I held onto to them tightly.

She sighed and gave up, walking out of the room.

She was convinced I had given up. To be honest, I thought about not going back to school, but I knew I would.

I was still sore from the accident, but it was bearable. I could walk without being assisted, a breakthrough from the first two days.

Those first days after I limped up the beach and back to the warehouse, were a haze. I remember Logan crying and begging somebody to bring me to the hospital. Dax was certain that I was going to die, but Jordan reassured them that I would be fine. He was always right.

Dax wouldn't leave my side the first two days, he was worse than Logan. He slept on my floor and talked to me, even though I didn't respond. I was too tired, too weak to even try to carry on the conversation. He didn't mind, or even seem to notice. He was always the one talking, I was always the quiet one.

Logan brought me water and juice. She was the one who thought to run down to the drug store and pick up some extra strength ibuprofen and kept on feeding it to me, along with some prescription sleep medication that Pete chipped in.

By the third day, Jordan told Logan to stop giving me the sleeping pills before I became addicted, since I was healing.

Also by the third day, Dax started to tell me to suck it up and walk it off. I ignored him.

So when the fourth day rolled around and I still refused to get out of bed, Dax refused to let me milk it anymore. In my defense, I wasn't milking it, but everybody was used to me sucking things up. I think Dax was just scared for me.

After Logan walked out of my room I rolled over and went back to sleep.

"Dude, enough is enough!" Dax yelled, waking me up and ripping my covers off.

I sat up, dazed and confused.

"What?" I asked my voice hoarse.

"You've been sleeping all fuckin' day. There's a party down the beach and we're going. We're going to go there and get drunk and you're gonna get laid and you're gonna be happy from now on," He said, pulling me up and talking really fast.

"Owww," I hissed, my arm aching still.

"Oh, come on. You're gonna go shower and pull yourself together."

I was on my feet and I didn't like it. My legs were weak from being bedridden and they refused to move.

"Dax you know I hate parties."

He rolled his eyes, "I don't care, you're freaking me out Z. You have to pull yourself together."

"So if I go to this fuckin' party, you'll lay off me?" I asked, my eyebrow raised.

He nodded.

I sighed, "I'm gonna go find somewhere to take a shower. I'll be back here in an hour."

He grinned, "You make me so proud."

I rolled my eyes, rummaged around for the some clean clothes, and ignored all the shocked faces as I walked through the warehouse and out the door.

When it came to taking a shower when you were homeless, it was difficult. A lot of the time we would just bathe in the lake, but that wouldn't cut it now. So I booked it to school.

Fairfield High was always my go to for showers.

There was a door that led to the boy's locker room that was easy to pick and unlock. The football game was done and all the lights were off in the school.

It only took me a couple seconds to get the lock picked and I pushed the door open. The overwhelming smell of sweat and jock hit me right away and I tried not to gag.

The room was completely dark and I felt around for the light switch, I found it and made my way to the shower.

The hot water felt amazing on my sore body. I probably smelt horrible to everybody else back home, especially if Dax was the one to tell me to take a shower.

I stayed in the shower until the water turned icy cold. When I got out, I quickly found my boxers and before I pulled the rest of my clothes on caught my naked reflection in the full length mirror.

I was pretty black and blue everywhere. The bruises on my left arm and rib cage were the worst. I relieved that's why it hurt to breathe. My face has a few cuts on it too and my eye was black. I don't remember hitting my face at all, but it all happened so fast.

I quickly got dressed, a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and a yellow hoddie. I pulled the hood up, collected my dirty clothes, turned the light off, and walked out of the door.

When I got back to the warehouse Dax was waiting for me right in the living room.

"You look less homeless now," He said, grabbed my elbow and drug me right back out the door.

"Why do you want to go to this party so bad?" I asked my best friend.

He shrugged, "I heard some kids talking about it earlier and I wanted to check it out. They said it was going to be awesome."

"Since when do you care about awesome parties? In your book isn't a party awesome if there is booze and girls present?"

He grinned.

I knew that grin, he was up to something.

"Dude what are you up to?"

He looked at me, long and hard, "I don't want to tell you."

I raised my eyebrows, "Why not?"

"You won't approve."

"Tell me."

"This party is at some kid's house and he's like loaded."

"You mean he's rich?"

He nodded, "Well his parents are anyways."

"So you're gonna steal from this kid?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Well, duh. I mean it's the perfect scene, there's gonna be like a hundred kids there."

I rolled my eyes, "Why am I coming with you. I'm not helping you."

He shrugged, "What if I need help carrying stuff out?"

"What the fuck are you going to steal?"

He shrugged, " I don't know."

"Well to burst your bubble if you steal something too big, you're gonna get caught."

He glared at me, "I know that, Z."

"Then why the fuck am I coming? I want no part in this."

He shrugged, "I thought you might want to make some money. You know for college. We could go into business together."

"Dax, this isn't business. This is," I couldn't think of anything to describe this situation, "This is just plain illegal."

"Zion, we do illegal things on a daily basis."

"Yeah, nothing that will hurt anybody though."

He shook his head, "It's a shame you have morals. You could be the brains behind the whole operation."

"Considering you don't have one, yeah I would be."

He punched my arm, I sucked my breathe in, he hit the bruise on my left arm.

"Are you really still hurt?" He asked, concern inching into his voice.

I shrugged, "Just a little bruised."

We walked down the beach until we heard music and Dax's face split into a huge grin.

"You go, I'm gonna pretend like I don't even know you."

"Fine, but I will find you if I need you."

I shrugged, "We'll see."

He rolled his eyes and trudged on toward the huge house.

I sighed and continued walking towards the water. I stopped when I noticed a lone figure sitting right in front of the water. I didn't know who it was, but she was female with dark hair. Something about the way she was sitting down by the water all alone, made me want to approach her. I don't know why, but I felt this attraction that I'd never felt before.

I started walking towards her. I got probably ten feet away from her when she turned around. The person I saw wasn't who I expected at all. Zita Fuentes wasn't supposed to go to parties, she was supposed to be smart and stay out of trouble.

"Fuck, it's you. I thought you were somebody else." I muttered.

She looked at me, her face twisting with disgust. Apparently she wasn't very happy to see me. I could have fun with this.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and grinned at her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked me.

I shrugged, "This is my beach. I own it."

I plopped down next to her, she stiffened.

She glanced at my face for a long time, her eyes trailing up and down my body, "What happened to you?"

" I joined a gang," I said, still grinning.

She rolled her big, brown eyes.

I gave her my best smirk and laid back on the wet sand.

"I really hate parties," I told her.

"I really hate you, but you don't hear me complaining about it." She muttered under her breath, so quiet that I almost couldn't hear her.

I looked over at her, and she looked back at me, our eyes met and a shiver ran through my spine. It had to be the wind, it was cold out, I refused to think anything else of it.

The I just started laughing.

She looked at me, trying to hold back a smile, "What's so funny?"

I pulled myself together, "You, Zita Fuentes. You're a very funny girl."

She rolled her eyes, "You don't even know me."

I shrugged, "You traveled to your brother's skating competitions this summer."

She gave me a look that said, "You got to be kidding."

I smiled at her and she just shook her head.

"Are you planning to come back to school anytime soon?" She asked me.

I shrugged, "Not many people like me there."

"Well I would like to have a lab partner again."

"You're a smart girl, I'm sure you can handle it without me."

"I know I can handle it, I just am busy and it would help me a lot if I had a lab partner who showed up to help with some of the work."

"What's in it for me if I show back up on Monday?" I asked.

She shrugged, "A passing grade in chemistry."

I chuckled, "You think I really care about that?"

"Seems like you don't, actually."

"Seems you're right about that."

She looked over at me, "Who are you anyways? Why are you even here? You're not the type to be at parties. You have no friends. You wear sweatshirts in a hundred degree weather. Who are you?" She was getting frustrated.

I shrugged, "I'm just trying to be a normal kid."

She threw her head back and laughed, "Well it's not working."

She got to her feet and started walking back to the house.

"Hey!" I yelled after her and got to my feet, "Who are you trying to be? I know you! You're not supposed to be the kind to go to parties. You don't get drunk, you don't have sex, you don't do drugs. What the fuck do you do? Who the fuck are you to question me, when you're just as much as a nobody as I am. Zita Fuentes, who the fuck is that?" I shot back at her almost yelling.

She came closer to me, clearly pissed.

"No, I'm nothing like you," She was only a couple inches away from me.

I could feel that electricity I felt earlier when I first saw her again. I wanted her closer and I couldn't understand why.

I took a step closer, so we were practically chest to chest, "You don't even know me," I said calmly.

She looked up at me, surprised by how close we were. She was shorter than me by almost a foot, she was tiny. I liked tiny girls. Her dark eyes searched my green ones. I leaned in and pressed my lips against hers, she didn't kiss me back right away. When she did, it felt like nothing else.

Why was I kissing this girl? Why am I so stupid? Why was I feeling these feelings?

"Zion!" I heard somebody scream.

Zita scrambled back. I was shocked, she was shocked, we just looked each other in shock.

"Z!" Dax screamed sprinting towards me, four guys a lot bigger than him right on his heels.

"Jesus Christ," I muttered snapping out of daze.

"Z, abort mission. Abort mission!" Dax yelled running towards the front of the yard.

Two guys stopped and began my way.

"Dax, what the fuck did you do?" I shouted, trying to find my legs so I could run away.

I was too slow, when I did remember how to run, my body screamed in pain and I nearly collapsed onto the beach.

The guys closed in on me and I was being grabbed and punched and thrown to the ground.

"Stop!" Somebody was screaming.

I didn't have it in me to fight back, I just couldn't. My arm refused to move and legs refused to work. I just laid there letting the blows come.

"I didn't do anything," I screamed.

"Stop!" Somebody screamed again, it was Zita I could tell.

"Carson, stop!" She screamed, she was trying to pull the two guys off me.

Then they stopped and turned to Zita.

I saw she covered her mouth with her hands. Blood poured out of her hands and it wasn't my blood. It was hers.

"Carson, what did you do man?" One of the guys said.

"Oh my god, Zita. I'm sorry. I got carried away." The other guy said, it was Carson.

"Get away from me! Both of you," She cried as Carson tried to go to her.

"Zita, let me look." Carson said.

I struggled to stand up, but when I did I said, "She said go away. So get the fuck away from her."

Not Carson grabbed Carson's elbow and lured him away from us.

Zita looked at me, she looked scared and there was blood pouring down her arms.

"Here, let me see," I said, moving closer to her.

She backed away at first, but let me move her hands away from her mouth. Her top lip was split pretty badly.

"Yeah, that's pretty bad," I muttered.

She just grunted.

I unzipped my hoddie put it on the ground, slipped off my t-shirt and gave it to her, "Put that on your lip to help the bleeding."

Her eyes were eyeing the dark bruise on my rib cage and around my whole chest. Then her eyes traveled to my arms, first my left and then she froze on my right where my scar from forever ago was.

My face burnt red, nobody knew about that scare except for the kids I lived with and most of them don't even know how I got it. I turned my back to her and put my hoodie back on, covering myself.

"You drive here?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"Give me your keys, I'll drive you home."

She hesitated, but dug in her pocket for her keys and handed them to me.

"You can't take me home. My dad will kill those guys if he sees me like this."

"So where to?"

"Take me to my brother's house. He'll know what to do. He'll help you out too."

I raised an eyebrow, "What?" I asked.

"Your eyebrow is bleeding, pretty badly," She said.

I put my hand over my eyebrow and sure enough, it came back sticky with blood.

I shook my head, "I'm fine."

She shrugged, "Fine then just drive me to Cruz's."

I nodded, "Okay."

I knew she was going to find a way to get me into Cruz's house, I could see a plan brewing in her eyes and for some odd reason, I still followed her to her car.

* * *

><p><strong>I know what you're thinking. This is going way to fast. Don't worry I got some ideas that aren't in play yet. So please review and let me know what you think. <strong>


	12. Hi

Hi. Is anybody out there anymore? I just crawled out of a hole.


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